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A Self-management Based Survivorship Intervention for Chinese Cancer Survivors

Not Applicable
Recruiting
Conditions
Physical Symptom Distress
Neoplasms
Weight Management
Interventions
Behavioral: First stage control intervention
Behavioral: Cancer survivorship care intervention
Behavioral: Step-up targeted personalized intervention
Behavioral: Second stage control intervention
Registration Number
NCT05534386
Lead Sponsor
The University of Hong Kong
Brief Summary

This study, using a sequential multiple assessment randomized controlled trial (SMART) approach, will evaluate a cancer survivorship care intervention on physical symptom distress, weight management, self-efficacy in managing cancer and health-related quality of life among Chinese patients recently completed curative cancer treatment.

Detailed Description

This study, using this SMART approach, will assess the effect of a cancer survivorship care intervention on physical symptom distress, self-efficacy in managing cancer, weight management and health-related quality of life among Chinese patients recently completing curative cancer treatment. First, the investigators will test the effect of a one-off, multidisciplinary team face-to-face assessment (namely, the cancer survivorship clinic) with personalized advice on symptom management, lifestyle modification and anxiety management in reducing the case prevalence of symptom distress, increasing the proportion meeting the weight management criteria, and improving self-efficacy and health-related quality of life among cancer survivors in post-treatment survivorship, in comparison to those receiving skills-based pamphlets for symptom management and lifestyle recommendations. Secondly, this study aims to explore if a step-up targeted personalized intervention is more effective for patients who continue to have symptom distress and/or not to meet the weight management criteria if patients have attended cancer survivorship clinic (i.e. the embedded adaptive intervention) in comparison to those receiving skills-based pamphlets.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
486
Inclusion Criteria
  • Cantonese- or Mandarin-speaking Chinese patients diagnosed curable cancer
  • have completed primary and adjuvant treatment within the past six months
Exclusion Criteria
  • Patients diagnosed with metastatic cancer

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
SEQUENTIAL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
First stage intervention: Control interventionFirst stage control interventionPatients randomized to the control group will be given a set of pamphlets explaining symptoms and describing skill-based self-management for symptom management and lifestyle recommendations. Each pamphlet addresses one of the 7 most commonly-reported symptoms (sleep difficulties, fatigue, neuropathy, pain, anxiety, depression, and fear of cancer recurrence) observed in Hong Kong cancer survivors, plus two on lifestyle recommendations (physical activity and healthy diet). All pamphlets are developed based on the self-management framework.
First stage intervention: Cancer survivorship care intervention (CSCI)Cancer survivorship care interventionPatients randomized to the CSCI will attend a 120-minutes survivorship clinic in which each participant will be assessed by members a multidisciplinary team comprising a registered nurse, a dietitian, an exercise physiologist and a psychologist/counsellor. During the visit, participants will receive a personalized (1) treatment summary, (2) assessment and recommendation on managing physical and psychological symptoms, (3) assessment and recommendation on dietary advice, (4) assessment and recommendation on physical activity, and (5) advice on managing potential psychosocial issues. While this is a multidisciplinary clinic, the nurse will be the core facilitator who will give a summary of health assessment report including personalized healthy lifestyle advice and action plan to each participant at the end of the visit.
Second stage intervention: Step-up targeted personalized interventionStep-up targeted personalized interventionThe step-up targeted personalized intervention will adopt a multi-disciplinary approach but place more emphasis on coaching to enhance patient' skills to manage their symptom burden and weight control.
Second stage intervention: Control interventionSecond stage control interventionPatients randomized to the control arm at the re-assessment at 4-months post-baseline will continue in the trial as usual (i.e. those in the survivorship clinic arm will be asked to follow the advice given by the multidisciplinary team in the initial visit and for those in the control arm will be asked to follow the advices printed in the skill-based self-management pamphlets).
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Proportion of symptom distress caseness (distress prevalence)4-months post-baseline

The 13-items Edmonton Symptom Checklist (ESAS) will be used to assess symptom distress. The ESAS assesses 13 common symptoms, including pain, fatigue, sleep difficulties, numbness, worrying, feeling sad, or feeling nervous, using a 10-point Likert scale. Patients rating at least one symptom at =\>7 will be categorized as moderate-to-severe symptom distress cases.

Change in total score of health-related quality of lifeBaseline and 4-months post-baseline

The Standard Chinese version of the European Organization Research Treatment Cancer (EORTC) general quality of life questionnaire (QLQ-C30) will assess health-related quality of life. The EORTC QLQ-C30 includes 30 items that measure five function scales (physical, role, emotional, cognitive, and social), three symptom scales (fatigue, pain, and nausea/vomiting), a global health QoL subscale, five single symptom items (dyspnea, appetite loss, sleep disturbance, constipation, and diarrhea) and financial difficulty.

Proportion of patients with suboptimal weight control4-months post-baseline

Anthropometric measures include weight, height, and body composition, which will be measured in light clothing and without shoes. Weight and body composition including body fat, total body water, muscle mass, bone mass and BMI will be measured using a high-quality segmental body composition monitor (Tanita InnerScan BC545N). Height will be measured to 0.01cm using a portable calibrated stadiometer (SECA Stadiometer). To minimise measurement error, weight and height will be measured twice with accepted values within 0.1kg and 0.3cm, respectively. If either measure falls outside the accepted range, a third measure will be taken. The average of the two acceptable measures will be used in the analysis.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Proportion of symptom distress caseness (distress prevalence)12-months post-baseline

The 13-items Edmonton Symptom Checklist (ESAS) will be used to assess symptom distress. The ESAS assesses 13 common symptoms, including pain, fatigue, sleep difficulties, numbness, worrying, feeling sad, or feeling nervous, using a 10-point Likert scale. Patients rating at least one symptom at =\>7 will be categorized as moderate-to-severe symptom distress cases.

Change in total scores of self-efficacyBaseline, 4-months post-baseline, and 12 months post-baseline

The process outcome is change in total scores of self-efficacy assessed by Self-Efficacy for Managing Chronic Disease scale (SEMCDS) from baseline to 4-months post-baseline, and baseline to 12 months post-baseline. This is a 6-item scale assessing patients' confidence to perform six self-management behaviours. Each item is rated on a 10-point Likert scale. A high score indicates high self-efficacy.

Health stateBaseline, 4-months post-baseline, and 12 months post-baseline

Health questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L) including five dimensions: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression will be used to assessed participants' health state. Each dimension has 5 levels from no problems, slight problems, moderate problems, severe problems to extreme problems. The EQ-5D-5L also records participants self-rated health on a vertical visual analogue scale, where higher values indicate better health the participants can imagine.

Fear of cancer recurrenceBaseline, 4-months post-baseline, and 12 months post-baseline

The 42-items Fear of cancer recurrence inventory comprised of seven subscales will be used to assess the change of fear of cancer recurrence (FCR). Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert Scale with a total score ranging from 0 to 168. Higher scores indicate greater FCR. The subscale, Severity will be used as a screening tool for high level of FCR. A score of 13 or higher was optimal for screening.

Illness perceptionBaseline, 4-months post-baseline, and 12 months post-baseline

Cognitive and emotional representations of illness were measured using the nine-item Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ).

Proportion of patients with suboptimal weight control12-months post-baseline

Anthropometric measures include weight, height, and body composition, which will be measured in light clothing and without shoes. Weight and body composition including body fat, total body water, muscle mass, bone mass and BMI will be measured using a high-quality segmental body composition monitor (Tanita InnerScan BC545N). Height will be measured to 0.01cm using a portable calibrated stadiometer (SECA Stadiometer). To minimise measurement error, weight and height will be measured twice with accepted values within 0.1kg and 0.3cm, respectively. If either measure falls outside the accepted range, a third measure will be taken. The average of the two acceptable measures will be used in the analysis.

Trial Locations

Locations (7)

Kwong Wah Hospital-Breast Center

🇭🇰

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Queen Mary Hospital-Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology

🇭🇰

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital-Department of oncology

🇭🇰

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Prince of Wales Hospital-Department of Surgery

🇭🇰

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Queen Mary Hospital-Department of Oncology

🇭🇰

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Tung Wah Hospital-Department of Surgery

🇭🇰

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Queen Mary Hospital-Department of Surgery

🇭🇰

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

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